Shuttle for circular looms



Oct. 10, 1939. E, KINSELLA SHUTTLE FOR QIRCULAR LOOMS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 28. 1938 Oct. 10, 1939. E. KINSELLA SHUTTLE FOR CIRCULAR LOOHS Filed July 28, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 10, 1939 PATENT OFFICE 2,175,269 SHUTTLE FOR CIRCULAR LOOMS Edward Kinsella, Spondon, near Derby, England, assignor to Celanese Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application July 28, 1938, Serial No. 221,663 In Great Britain August 5, 1937 8 Claims.

This invention relates to circular looms, being particularly concerned with circular loom shuttles of the type in which the shuttle extends to the fell of the fabric to provide there an edge by which the weft is beaten into the fabric.

According to the invention, a circular loom shuttle comprises a body member adapted to be supported in the loom, a beat-up member with a beat-up edge movable towards and away from said body, and spring means for urging said edge away from said body, said spring means being of such a strength as to produce at the beat-up edge the beat-up pressure required ofthat edge within the limit of its resiliency. With such spring means between the beat-up edge and the shuttle body, the resistance to beat-up of the first few picks inserted by the shuttle rapidly causes the spring means to develop such a degree of stifiness that the desired pick-density is soon attained. All the shuttles of the loom having mountings for their beat-up members with spring means all of the same rating, all the wefts are beaten up into the fabric with substantially the samepressure with the result that the wefts are substantially uniformly spaced in the fabric. Substantial advantage is obtained as regards the uniformity of the appearance of the fabric, and

especially of fabrics with wefts of continuous natural or artificial filaments.

The invention is of particular advantage as applied to the type of shuttle in which the shuttles are supported in the loom and positioned in the shed by means of rotatable vane wheels penetrating one warp sheet to engage rotatable flanged rollers carried by the shuttle body and by means of a roller in the shuttle body pressing through the other warp sheet on a resiliently covered race. If with such shuttles the spring mountings of the several shuttle bases have the same rating, any tendency to the exertion of different beat-up pressures due to slight variations-in the positioning of the shuttles with respect tothe resiliently covered race is overridden by the ability of the beat-up edges to give slightly without substantial variation in the beatup pressure. In other words, instead of the beat-up pressure being an indeterminate quantity it becomes a quantity that may be fixed with substantial accuracy.

Conveniently the beat-up edge is carried by or formed on a member pivoted to the shuttle body and urged at a position remote from the pivot away from the shuttle body by means of a compression spring. For example, stiff helical wire springs or conical springs made from flat strip substantially normally to the fell. The beat-up .5

edge may also be provided as a member capable of sliding with respect to the shuttle body.

Meansare preferably provided to give a' ready indication of the degree of loading of the spring means. Thus a gap between a member on the shuttle body and the beat-up member may close by the amount the spring means has moved from its unloaded condition. Identical gaps at all shuttles indicate that all shuttles are working with the same beat-up pressure. Stops are pref- 5 erably arranged to limit the movement of the edge beyond the normal working amount.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a shuttle;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the shuttle shown in Fig. 1;

Figs. 3 and 3a show in part-section to an enlarged scale a detail of Fig. 1, showing alternative forms of spring;

Figs. 4-7 show various modifications of the shuttle base; and

Fig. 8 illustrates the positioning of a plurality of shuttles with respect to the fell of the fabric.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the shuttle comprises a body casting I provided with horizontal bearings 2 for two sets of flanged rollers 3 adapted to be engaged by rotatable vane wheels 4 mounted on a shaft 5. On the side of the shuttle 535 remote from theone engaged by the vane wheels 4 is provided a freely rotatable roller 6 mounted on a slightlyinclined axis so. as to bear against the inclined rubber face I of a stationary annular race 8. By reason of the engagement of the vane wheels with the flanged rollers 3 at four points on one side of the shuttle and of the engagement ofthe roller 6 with the race 8 at a substantially central point on the other side of the shuttle, the body casting l is supported sub- =46 stantially rigidly in a vertical position at a definite height above the fell of the fabric, i. e. above the upper edge of the ring 88 (Fig. 2) which supports the fabric being woven. The shuttle is carried round the loom by the propulsion of the vane 50 wheels 4 which, with their shafts 5, are propelled round the loom by means with which the present invention is not concerned. Above the casting I a back plate 9 is secured to carry a weft package Hi from which the weft thread H is carried to the base of the shuttle. At the forward end of the shuttle warp feeler mechanism I2 is disposed to operate a stop mechanism through a sliding rod I3 when the shuttle encounters some ob struction in the shed.

The beat-up edge is formed on a member I4 pivoted at I5 to a downward extension of the casting I, the downward movement of the member I4 being restricted by hooks I6, H on the members I4 and I respectively. The member I4 is provided at the rear end of its bottom edge with a guide eye I8 through which the weft II passes from the shuttle to the fell. Forwardly of the guide IS the member I4 is provided with a beat-up edge I9 which enables the shuttle to beat-up the weft laid by a preceding shuttle. A second guide eye 20 provided forwardly of the edge I9 may be used instead of the rear guide eye I8 and enables the shuttle to beat-up its own weft as well as that laid by the preceding shuttle. The front end of the member I4 is folded round the casting I as indicated at 2|, so as to cover any crevice into which a warp thread might enter.

The member I4 is urged downwardly with respect to the casting I by means of a conical compression spring 22 (Fig. 3a) carried inside a sleeve 23 screwed into an extension 24 of the casting I, the spring 22 bearing on a pad 25 carried by an upward extension 26 of the member I4 with the shuttle supported in the loom and its beat-up edge I9 bearing on the fell of the fabric, the spring 22 is compressed until a balance is reached at the edge I9 between the pressure exerted there by the spring and the pressure necessary to beat up weft to its proper position in the fabric, the ultimate downward pressure of the beat-up edge being provided by the downward thrusts of the vane wheels 4 on the lower flanged rollers 3.

When it is necessary that all the shuttles in the loom should exert the same beat-up pressure, so as to ensure that all the wefts are uniformly pressed into the fell of the fabric, the springs are adjusted as follows. The number of shuttles in a particular loom will depend on the diameter of the loom and the size of weft package to be accommodated; for example, the shuttles may number 10, 12, 16, 20, 24 or more. Three such shuttles designated 21, 28 and 29 are shown in Fig. 8, the circle (or cylinder) in which the weft is laid being, of course, flattened in this figure. The three shuttles apply beat-up pressure at right-angles to the plane of the circle round which the weft is laid. All the shuttles are provided with springs 22 having the same free length and carefully calibrated so as to have the same rating, i. e. they each have the same deflection when each is subjected to the same load. A short length of fabric is woven, and a final positioning of the shuttles is then effected by adjustment of the sleeves 23 in the extensions 24 so that at each shuttle exactly the same gap 30 exists between the headed base 3| of the sleeve 23 and a gauging edge 32 of the extension 26. With the same gap existing at all the shuttles, it follows that during weaving there is the same balance of pressure at the several beat-up edges I9 by the corresponding compressions of the springs 22, which condition can be observed by noting that all the gaps 30 are equal in extent, i. c. all have closed by an equal amount, the hooks I5, I! remaining clear of each other. Equal pressures are exerted by the springs so long as equal gaps 30 exist at all shuttles. This gap will, of course, be

less, the greater the beat-up pressure required, as for example, in the weaving of heavier or denser fabrics.

As is shown in Fig. 8, the shuttle 21 beats up the weft 34 laid by the preceding shuttle and its own weft 35 is beaten up by the shuttle 28. The weft 36 from the shuttle 28 is in turn beaten up by the shuttle 29, whose weft 31 is beaten up by the next shuttle, and so on. With the same gap 3|] at each of the shuttles, the same spring pressure is being exerted downwardly on the wefts 34, 35 so that each weft is spaced the same distance from the preceding weft.

Fig. 3 shows a helical wire spring, e. g. used instead of the conical spring 22. With such a spring, the rating should be such that when the spring is compressed to give the required beat-up pressure the coils of the spring should still be spaced apart, i, e. thereshould be no danger of the spring becoming solid, as will be clear from the need for the spring to work within the limit of its resiliency.

It will be understood that the principle of predetermining the beat-up pressure exerted by any particular shuttle can be used otherwise than for the purpose of providing that every shuttle exerts the same pressure as every other shuttle. For example, one or more of the shuttles may be arranged to exert a beat-up pressure greater or less than that exerted by all the shuttles. Thus, a weft stripe effect may be produced by arranging for predetermined shuttles to exert no beat-up pressure at all.

Referring to Figs. 4-7, various other arrangements of exerting beat-up pressure by means of springs are shown diagrammatically. In Fig. 4 the body casting I is extended downwardly to a plate 38 fitted with a bridge 39 extending across a gap 49. Plungers 4I sliding through the bridge 39 carry a beat-up edge 42 which during weaving is urged downwardly by a pair of springs 43 which presses on collars 44 on the plungers and against a plate 45 at the head of the gap 49. In the several shuttles the springs 43 have the same free length and the same rating, and thus ensure that the same pressure is applied at all the beat-up edges 42. In Fig. 5 the body casting I extends into a plate 46 carrying a pivot 41 on which rock two bell crank levers 48 whose downward ends are slidably pivoted at their lower ends 49 to a beat-up member 50 and their rearward ends connected by a tension spring 5I. The spring 5| urges the beat-up member downward against the fell with a predetermined pressure. In Fig. 6 the body casting I extends into a plate 52 having pivots 53 for a pair of links 54, the upper one of which is formed as a bell crank 55, connected to a tension spring 56. The ends of the links 54 are pivoted at 51 to the beat-up member 58 which is urged downwardly by the spring with a predetermined pressure. In Fig. 7 the body casting I extends into a plate 59 having a pivot 60 for a bell crank lever 6 I, to which a beat-up member 62 is rigidly connected. The tension spring 63 urges the beat-up member 62 downwardly with a predetermined pressure. The forward ends of the beat-up members shown in Figs. 47 are folded as shown at 64 to avoid crevices into which'warp threads might enter.

Having described my invention what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Circular loom shuttle adapted to apply to the weft a beat-up pressure substantialy at right angles to the plane of the circle in which weft is laid, said shuttle comprising means for positioning 5 the shuttle within the warp shed and adapted to receive at positions forwardly and rearwardly of the shuttle thrusts to be transmitted through the shuttle to the fell as a beat-up pressure at a position between the lines of action of said thrusts, a beat-up member carried by the shuttle body and having a beat-up edge movable towards and away from the shuttle-positioning means, and spring means for urging said edge away from the shuttlepositioning means, the strength of the spring means being such that a slight movement of the beat-up edge deforms the spring sufficiently to enable the beat-up pressure to be transmitted through the spring within the limit of its resiliency.

2. Circular loom shuttle according to claim 1, comprising means to indicate the degree of loading of the spring means.

3. Circular loom shuttle according to claim 1, comprising means for limiting the movement of the beat-up edge away from the shuttle body.

4. Circular loom shuttle adapted to apply to the weft a beat-up pressure substantially at right angles to the plane of the circle in which weft is laid, said shuttle comprising means for positioning the shuttle within the warp shed and adapted to receive at positions forwardly and rearwardly of the shuttle thrusts to be transmitted through the shuttle to the fell as a beat-up pressure at a position between the lines of action of said thrusts, a beat-up edge formed on a member pivoted to the shuttle body in such a way that the beat-up edge is movable towards and away from the shuttlepositioning means in a direction normal to the fell, and spring means for urging said edge away from the shuttle-positioning means, the strength of the spring means being such that a slight movement of the beat-up edge deforms the spring sufiiciently to enable the beat-up pressure to be transmitted through the spring within the limit of its resiliency.

5. Circular loom shuttle adapted to apply to the weft a beat-up pressure substantially at right angles to the plane of the circle in which weft is laid, said shuttle comprising means for positioning the shuttle within the warp shed and adapted to receive at positions forwardly and rearwardly of the shuttle thrusts to be transmitted through the shuttle to the fell as a beat-up pressure at a position between the lines of action of said thrusts, a beat-up edge formed on a member pivoted to the shuttle body in such a way that the beat-up edge is movable towards and away from the shuttlepositioning means in a direction normal to the fell, spring means for urging said edge away from the shuttle-positioning means, the strength of the spring means being such that a slight movement .of the beat-up edge deforms the spring sufficiently to enable the beat-up pressure to be transmitted through the spring within the limit of its resiliency and means for limiting the movement of the beatup edge away from the shuttle body.

6. Circular loom according to claim 1, wherein the beat-up member is slidably mounted with respect to the shuttle body.

7. Circular loom according to claim 1, wherein the means for urging the beat-up edge away from the shuttle body comprises a spring working under compression.

8. Circular loom shuttle adapted to apply to the weft a beat-up pressure substantially at right angles to the plane of the circle in which weft is laid, said shuttle comprising means for positioning the shuttle within the warp shed and adapted to receive at positions forwardly and rearwardly of the shuttle thrusts to be transmitted through the shuttle to the fell as a beat-up pressure at a position between the lines of action of said thrusts, a beat-up edge formed on a member pivoted to the shuttle body in such a way that the beat-up edge is movable towards and away from the shuttlepositioning means in a direction normal to the fell, and a spring working under compression for urging said edge away from the shuttle-positioning means, the strength of the spring being such that a slight movement of the beat-up edge deforms the spring sufficiently to enable the beatup pressure to be transmitted through the spring within the limit of its resiliency.

EDWARD KINSELLA. 

